5 ms·

They could do that but you deeplink back into the Netflix app to actually watch to solve the DRM issue. Which I think shows that it's about more than just DRM.

They could do that but you deeplink back into the Netflix app to actually watch to solve the DRM issue. Which I think shows that it's about more than just DRM. They want to control the experience.

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
Importantly, to get the data to learn from it to improve faster than their competitors can.
- withinboredom 5y ago
  We realized our competitors were copying us at a company long ago. We geofenced a/b tests so they wouldn’t see what we were testing and intentionally made the web app worse for that area (mostly as a “fun” 20% type project). Interestingly, the “worse” version starting doing really well even though we were giving them “control” for all older features. We ended up rolling back several months of changes to the entire product and we saw a huge burst in revenue. It wouldn’t be until years later until I understood the Simpson paradox and that a/b testing improves the mean of whatever metric you’re trying to improve, usually by decreasing some important segment and improving some unimportant segment.
  - d0100 5y ago
    I would love to read a blog post with more details
  - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
    That's why you should measure many things - especially all your important things - in every a/b test [=
    - withinboredom 5y ago
      With the Simpson paradox, even if your metrics go up, across all your segments, it’s actually going down. Measuring only takes you so far.
      - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
        Sure - this is why Google Search constantly makes less money. Measuring only takes it so far.
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    That description of Simpson's Paradox doesn't really agree with my understanding. Simpson's paradox goes with how the same data is cut into subgroups and can invert the numbers. That is, it's less about "metrics up, other unmeasured metrics down" and more "we're up in all subgroups, so we never noticed that our numbers across when we combine the subgroups are down."
alisonkisk 5y ago
RC_ITR 5y ago
Of course they do. If they ever have any hope of improving margins, they need to argue that “our curation drives content discovery” to get better deals out of content providers.
- forgotmysn 5y ago
  they've abandoned the content acquisition strategy. that went out the boat a long time ago. netflix is a content creation company now, competing with HBO, NBC, etc.
  - wikfwikf 5y ago
    That doesn't change the value they provide to the people actually making the shows. As a producer/show runner, who would you rather make a series for, Netflix or a streaming service you've never heard of? Which would you accept less money upfront from? Suppose you choose Netflix to fund your philosophical sci-fi show? Netflix tell you they will put it at the top of the main menu for everyone who's ever watched the new Star Trek as long as you agree to X. Do you agree to X?
    - RC_ITR 5y ago
      Thank you. It's always a struggle to communicate to people in 'labor' industries that creative content is ruled by 'talent,' so even if you employ the 'talent,' they still have the upper-hand as the owners of their IP and abilities.
bigger_inside 5y ago
There's no practical difference between the two. DRM doesn't effectively keep you from finding everything anyway, and much DRM is flimsy, easy-to-bypass pro forma DRM; because DRM -is- about controlling the experience, first and foremost. Its sheer presence activates the DMCA felony protection of circumventing copyright. This is why Cory Doctorow always calls copyright evasion "felony contempt of business model". It's there so the company can control the experience and squash any attempt to bypass that control; in that sense, the DRM on the UX is more important than the DRM on the content itself. Obligatory Cory Doctorow "Unauthorized Bread" link: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...

They could do that but you deeplink back into the Netflix app to actually watch to solve the DRM issue. Which I think shows that it's about more than just DRM. They want to control the experience.

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago

Importantly, to get the data to learn from it to improve faster than their competitors can.

withinboredom 5y ago
We realized our competitors were copying us at a company long ago. We geofenced a/b tests so they wouldn’t see what we were testing and intentionally made the web app worse for that area (mostly as a “fun” 20% type project). Interestingly, the “worse” version starting doing really well even though we were giving them “control” for all older features. We ended up rolling back several months of changes to the entire product and we saw a huge burst in revenue. It wouldn’t be until years later until I understood the Simpson paradox and that a/b testing improves the mean of whatever metric you’re trying to improve, usually by decreasing some important segment and improving some unimportant segment.
- d0100 5y ago
  I would love to read a blog post with more details
- onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
  That's why you should measure many things - especially all your important things - in every a/b test [=
  - withinboredom 5y ago
    With the Simpson paradox, even if your metrics go up, across all your segments, it’s actually going down. Measuring only takes you so far.
    - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
      Sure - this is why Google Search constantly makes less money. Measuring only takes it so far.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  That description of Simpson's Paradox doesn't really agree with my understanding. Simpson's paradox goes with how the same data is cut into subgroups and can invert the numbers. That is, it's less about "metrics up, other unmeasured metrics down" and more "we're up in all subgroups, so we never noticed that our numbers across when we combine the subgroups are down."

alisonkisk 5y ago

RC_ITR 5y ago

Of course they do. If they ever have any hope of improving margins, they need to argue that “our curation drives content discovery” to get better deals out of content providers.

forgotmysn 5y ago
they've abandoned the content acquisition strategy. that went out the boat a long time ago. netflix is a content creation company now, competing with HBO, NBC, etc.
- wikfwikf 5y ago
  That doesn't change the value they provide to the people actually making the shows. As a producer/show runner, who would you rather make a series for, Netflix or a streaming service you've never heard of? Which would you accept less money upfront from? Suppose you choose Netflix to fund your philosophical sci-fi show? Netflix tell you they will put it at the top of the main menu for everyone who's ever watched the new Star Trek as long as you agree to X. Do you agree to X?
  - RC_ITR 5y ago
    Thank you. It's always a struggle to communicate to people in 'labor' industries that creative content is ruled by 'talent,' so even if you employ the 'talent,' they still have the upper-hand as the owners of their IP and abilities.

bigger_inside 5y ago

There's no practical difference between the two. DRM doesn't effectively keep you from finding everything anyway, and much DRM is flimsy, easy-to-bypass pro forma DRM; because DRM -is- about controlling the experience, first and foremost. Its sheer presence activates the DMCA felony protection of circumventing copyright. This is why Cory Doctorow always calls copyright evasion "felony contempt of business model". It's there so the company can control the experience and squash any attempt to bypass that control; in that sense, the DRM on the UX is more important than the DRM on the content itself. Obligatory Cory Doctorow "Unauthorized Bread" link: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...